


Running Out of Time

by Confusedpxnk



Series: Whumptober 2020 [4]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt, Hurt Spencer Reid, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sad Spencer Reid, Spencer Reid Whump, Worried Derek Morgan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:21:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26827285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Confusedpxnk/pseuds/Confusedpxnk
Summary: Day 4 of Whumptober buried aliveSpencer Reid is kidnapped by an unsub.It happens way too often tbh.AKA Derek Morgan is very worried.
Relationships: Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid
Series: Whumptober 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950520
Comments: 2
Kudos: 152





	Running Out of Time

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Being buried alive,, duh.

“God damn it Hotch!” Derek slammed a fist onto the table, knocking off a few pens, and startling JJ, “He’s just out there with that sick fuck. He could be  _ dying _ , Hotch, and you want me to just  _ relax _ and work on the profile?”

“ _ Agent Morgan, _ calm down,” Hotch stood up. JJ and Emily shared a look. This was the voice Hotch usually reserved for unsubs and cocky suspects, “We’re all worried. He’s our teammate for God’s sake,  _ but _ if you make a habit of snapping like this, you’re going to have to sit out this case. I know you don’t want that.”

Morgan lowered himself to an empty chair, clenching his fists, “We have to find him Hotch.”

“We will,” Hotch took on a softer tone, “You know that we can’t find him without the profile. If it’ll make you feel better, you and Emily can take a more hands-on approach and go to the hardware store that our potential unsub was seen in recently.”

“Yeah, that’d make me feel better. Let’s go, Emily.”

“Morgan?”

“Yeah, Hotch?”  
“We’re going to find him.”

Derek left the room without another word, Emily trailing behind him. They drove in silence for a quarter of a mile before Emily spoke up.

“I know how you feel, Derek.”

Derek’s hand tightened on the steering wheel, “How?”

“JJ was taken by an unsub before.”

“That’s not exactly the same, is it?”

“What?”

“You’re not dating JJ. You never did date JJ. It’s not the same. JJ wasn’t _ counting on you  _ to keep her safe.” Derek didn’t look at Emily, not caring enough to see the hurt on her face, “Goddamnit Prentiss, I  _ promised  _ him. I told him,  _ Spencer _ , that I was going to keep him safe, and I didn’t. Spencer is just out there! In danger, and if, if he dies out there? I broke my promise, I lied to him,” He didn’t notice the tears that had begun to fall from his face, “He’s had enough people lie to him. I don’t want to,  _ I can’t  _ be one of those people.”

They made the rest of the trip silently. Derek pretended not to notice how hurt Emily looked, and Emily pretended not to see the tears streaming from Derek’s eyes.

Five hours after Spencer had been taken, and the team had finally gotten a lead. 

“Mark Edwards, a 45-year-old man from Fredericksburg, Virginia,” JJ began the briefing, “He’s suffering from intense delusions. He believes that the only way to get a man to heaven is to bury them alive, cleansing them in a sense. He’s eccentric, strange. Because of this few people are nice to him. The unlucky few that chose to treat him with kindness and sympathy become his victims. He wants to repay the favor, so he chooses to ‘cleanse’ them, ultimately burying them alive until they choke on dirt, and/or suffocate,” Derek tensed up, thinking about what his boy could be going through right now.

As JJ expanded on the profile, Derek’s mind wandered. He thought of his time spent with Reid. Their first date, Derek chose to go old school, he took him to a drive-in movie, some old 90s flick. They watched it, splayed across the hood of Derek’s car, wrapped in blankets. He still remembers that exact shade of rose that Spencer’s cheeks turned when he pulled him into his arms at the end of the movie. 

He thought about their last date before Spencer was taken. They went to some stupid, fancy restaurant for dinner. Spencer had just bought a new suit and insisted on going somewhere that it’d be appropriate for him to wear it. So, that’s how they ended up at the pretentious restaurant three blocks away from their shared apartment. 

The food was  _ shit _ , and they left before the check came, haphazardly leaving what they deemed to be enough money on the table. Before the night was over, they ended up in an ice cream parlor, dressed to the nines, and trying not to get chocolate ice cream on their suits. Well, Derek was. Spencer insisted that chocolate ice cream was ‘too basic’ of a flavor for him, so he opted for mint chocolate chip.

But now, those memories were fading fast. If they didn’t find him in time, they would be the last memories that Derek had of Spencer. It felt hopeless.

That was until Garcia found exactly who they were looking for, and where he would be located. After thanking the techie like she was a God, Derek and Hotch went zooming off to the coordinates Garcia had sent them.

They arrived at a small farm, driving past a small herd of cattle. Rushing out of the car, Morgan, and Hotch rushed to an empty field where they saw Mark Edwards crouching next to a freshly filled-in hole.

“Mark Edwards, you’re under arrest for the murder of Sarah Leighton, Thomas Hardy, and the abduction of Spencer Reid,” Hotch cuffed the unsub while Derek got on his knees, plunging his hands into the fresh soil.

He felt his nails graze flesh, and a hand weakly grip his wrist.

“Hotch!” Derek began to frantically scoop handfuls of dirt away, “Hotch! He’s in here, get a shovel!”

Derek kept digging at the dirt, focusing on the spot where he assumed Reid’s face would be until he saw the paleness of his lover through the thin layer of dirt. Hotch ran back to Derek, shovel in hand. Derek cleared enough dirt away so Spencer could breathe and open his eyes. The older man almost began to cry again when he saw the panic in Spencer’s eyes.

Five minutes later, when Spencer was free enough to be pulled out, he wrapped his arms around Derek's neck, letting himself be gently lifted out of the ground, crying into the older’s shoulder.

“Der,” Spencer sobbed, not caring that he was getting Derek’s shirt dirty and wet.

“I know,” Derek placed a firm hand on the back of Spencer’s head, “You’re so strong, darling. I’m so proud of you, pretty boy. My pretty boy.”

“Yours?” He sniffled, beginning to giggle.

“If you’ll have me, dear.”

  
  



End file.
